Watching Porn: And Other Confessions of an Adult Entertainment Journalist

Product Description

One feminist’s candid account of her unexpected adventure in the world of porn as a journalist and discovery of an industry that is more nuanced than she ever imagined.

Lynsey G. never imagined that she would ever work in porn, but at 24 years old, with a degree in English literature and an empty bank account, she found herself reviewing the film East Coast ASSault for an adult magazine in New York City. One interview later and it was official: she was a porn journalist. The job was supposed to be temporary―just a paycheck until she could spark her legitimate writing career―but she loved it and spent nearly a decade describing the nuances of money shots and the effectiveness of sex toys. As both a porn consumer and a porn critic, she was not quite an insider, not quite an outsider, but came to know the industry intimately.

She found it so fascinating that she co-founded WHACK! Magazine. Finally, she had a platform to voice her thoughts and observations of the adult film world, as well as educate the rest of us about what really goes on behind the scenes. Eventually, Lynsey was thrust back into the “real” world, but not before realizing that one of the most diverse and nebulous―and profitable―industries on the planet isn’t so quite as different from the rest of the world as she thought.

Tantalizing, eye-opening, and witty, Watching Porn is a provocative book about an average girl’s foray into the porn industry and the people who make it what it is.

Lynsey G has been writing about the intersection of pornography, feminism, and sexuality since 2007 as a reviewer, interviewer, critic, and blogger for multiple adult magazines and websites. She's also published journalism, poetry, narrative nonfiction, and fiction in Bitch Magazine, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Nerve.com, Luna Luna Magazine, Stirring: A Literary Journal, The Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review, and elsewhere.

“Watching Porn is a seductive work that approaches its subject respectfully and from every conceivable angle, working toward wholly satisfying conclusions . . . a project laden with humor, incisive insights, and titillating, winking bawdiness.”—ForeWord Reviews

“Lynsey G. is an intrepid explorer, boldly going where few reporters have gone with such a critical eye: deep inside the real world of commercial sex. She finds the charm in the obscene, the humor in the lurid, and makes you wonder why you were ever scared of porn in the first place.”—Tina Horn, host of Why Are People Into That?! podcast and author of Love Not Given Lightly

“A young, vivacious, sexually-repressed feminist gets a job watching porn. Hijinks ensue . . . A valuable and insightful contribution to our ongoing dialogue about the role that porn holds in society today, and what role we believe it should hold, in a responsible and ethical formulation of modern sexuality.” —David Ley, Ph.D., author of Ethical Porn for Dicks

“Watching Porn is a feminist’s trip down the rabbit hole through a rapidly changing, surreal wonderland. Get your girlfriends together and discuss this book over a bottle of wine.”—May Ling Su, porn performer and author, MayLingSu.com

“Watching Porn is an engaging romp behind-the-scenes with a ribald guide, exploring the many ways porn reflects and shapes our desires, and giving a longing look at what it could be in the future.” —Lisa Vandever, co-founder and director of CineKink